With Texans 2-9, it's time to feel a draft

Gary Kubiak was back on the job Monday after the loss to the Jaguars but still on very shaky ground as far as his long-term job security goes.

Gary Kubiak was back on the job Monday after the loss to the...

Guess who showed up at Gary Kubiak's weekly news conference Monday.

Gary Kubiak.

Although I know no one who dislikes Kubiak, neither do I know anyone who believes he should still be the Texans' coach after Sunday's loss at Reliant Stadium to Jacksonville, with the exception of the only one whose opinion matters, Bob McNair.

With Sunday's loss, the Texans are tied with Jacksonville and Atlanta as the NFL's worst teams at 2-9.

Considering the Texans' remaining opponents, starting with New England at home Sunday, there is no reason for anyone to have absolute confidence they will win any of the last five games. That includes a Dec. 5 game at Jacksonville that could determine which team earns the No. 1 draft choice.

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There is not much chance that even with another win or two the Texans will fall out of the top five.

Which underclassmen are going to declare for the draft?

Who will be available whenever the Texans choose?

Whom will they choose?

That ultimately could be a more important decision for the Texans' future than whether they fire Kubiak.

Ask the San Francisco 49ers. Was it more important whether they drafted Alex Smith instead of Aaron Rodgers in 2005 or that Mike Nolan was coaching them?

Texans bowl-eligible

The next Texans-Jaguars game already is being referred to as the Bridgewater Bowl because it is presumed the loser would use the top choice for Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

But would the Texans choose him?

Would they even choose a quarterback?

The 2014 draft speculation is shaping up to be as entertaining a parlor game for Texans fans, sports talk radio hosts, and yes, sports columnists, as it was in 2006.

The Texans lost the final game of that season against the 49ers to win the Bush Bowl because it was presumed the loser would use the top choice for Southern Cal running back Reggie Bush.

The Texans didn't choose him or the local hero, quarterback Vince Young.

They chose defensive end Mario Williams.

Although it might be difficult to believe, this could be an even more controversial decision for the Texans because:

A) Not everyone believes they need a quarterback because they already have a local hero, Case Keenum.

B) Many who believe they need a quarterback would demand they draft a different local hero, Johnny Manziel.

This is going to be a very interesting next few months before the May 8-10 draft for Texans general manager Rick Smith.

One person no doubt offering advice via cable television will be the NFL Network's Charley Casserly, the Texans general manager who drafted Williams in 2006. That turned out to be the correct choice. He made it after tuning out virtually everyone else.

He knows Smith also will tune out everyone else, including him, recently telling NFL.com the best front offices stay as far apart from public opinion opinions as the earth does from the moon.

There will be a steady drumbeat in Houston for Keenum. The many fans he earned as a record-setting passer for the University of Houston remain firmly committed to him as the Texans' quarterback of the future.

That is not necessarily true of Kubiak, although he said Monday that Keenum will be the starting quarterback for Sunday's game despite a poor performance in the loss to Jacksonville.

It was the worst of his five starts, even worse than when he was benched in the third quarter the week before in a loss to Oakland.

"I think the last couple of weeks have been a little tougher,'' Kubiak said. "I thought it would get tougher. So it doesn't surprise me. But I think he's battling, continues to do some good stuff.''

Texas A&M fans are campaigning for the Texans to draft Manziel, whose more controlled play this season made him seem more adaptable to NFL offenses. But his erratic play in Saturday's loss to LSU has made some wonder whether he can adapt to stronger and faster NFL defenses.

But Smith might believe the Texans have other priorities. He probably will look closely at South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, as he probably will at outside linebackers Anthony Barr of UCLA and Khalil Mack of Buffalo and offensive tackles Jake Matthews of Texas A&M, Cyrus Kouandjio of Alabama and Taylor Lewan of Michigan.

Smith might believe he can draft one in the first round and still have quarterbacks such as UCLA's Brett Hundley or Clemson's Tajh Boyd available in the second.

The draft watch has begun.

Just don't expect Smith to start hanging out at the water cooler to hear what we think.